Who did Paul Bradley play in Eastenders and where is he now?

16 March 2022, 08:28

Who is Paul Bradley and why did he leave EastEnders? Here's what we know about the Holby City star...

Paul Bradley first made his EastEnders debut back in 1992, and has enjoyed a long career in acting since then. 

He's now back on Holby City, and even starred in a West End production last year. 

But who did Paul Bradley play in Eastenders? And what happened to his character?

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Who did Paul Bradley play in Eastenders?

Paul Bradley played iconic EastEnders character Nigel Bates during the 1990s. 

Fans of the show will know Nigel as Grant Mitchell’s best friend who worked in the local video shop. 

He was also good friends with legend Dot Cotton, who saw him like the son she never had. 

The character also married Debbie Bates and ended up adopting her daughter Clare, but this came to a tragic end in 1995 when Debbie was killed in a hit and run accident. 

His final storyline came when he fell in love with Clare’s school teacher Julie Haye and the pair left in 1998 to go and live in Scotland with Clare and Julie’s son, Josh Saunders.

Dot occasionally visited Nigel off-screen and Julie returned in 2008, admitting her relationship with Nigel had become strained. 

In October 2009, Pat revealed that Nigel had suffered a heart attack and Dot went to visit him.

Where is Paul Bradley now?

Since leaving EastEnders in 1998 he's gone on to star in many other TV series such as Doctors, My Family, and Casualty.

Between 2005 and 2019, he played Elliot Hope in Holby City and with the soap coming to an end this year, he made a surprise return. 

On Tuesday (March 16), Elliot was back to help Jac Naylor who is suffering from a brain tumour. 

Paul also starred in dark comedy series I Hate Suzie and in the summer of 2021, he played Major Metcalfe in the long running West End play The Mousetrap.